The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Indian tour has been a mixed bag, I think. Some of their events went well, but when things went wrong, those events seemed to cause the most commotion. I still think the whole Indian tour got eclipsed by Kate’s Marilyn Moment on Day 2. She’s had so many Marilyn Moments over the years, and she’s had so many opportunities to just add weights to her hems, so the fact that she hasn’t done that yet is stupid. But considering the lack of genuine substance during the tour, is it any wonder why people are just focusing on the clothes and the silly stuff? So, with that in mind, I bring you some criticism straight from the style-gossipers of India.
A novelist and columnist dubbed the ‘Jackie Collins of India’ has slated the Duchess of Cambridge for her fashion choices on the royal tour. Former model Shobhaa Rajadhyaksha, 68, wrote the scathing rant for the news website, NDTV sniping that the Duchess looked ‘wishy washy’ and ‘boring’ in gowns by the like of Temperley London and Jenny Packham.
However, Shobhaa said she was counting her blessings that the Duchess had so far skipped wearing a sari.
‘Her waist is perfect for crinoline ball gowns from “Gone with the Wind”. But a saree needs curves. A saree demands a derriere,’ she said. ‘Kate has none. Thank God, some misguided fashion guru has spared her and us so far.’
Kate’s first outfit of the tour was branded the ‘worst’ of all by Shobhaa. The Duchess blended Indian colour with British couture with an Alexander McQueen dress for her arrival at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. But Shobhaa was less than impressed with India’s first glimpse of the Duchess, saying: ‘Excuse me – what was that? Those paisleys and what nots going all over the place. The bright red background which made Kate look rather pale, and the strange cuts and contours.’
Personally, I think the worst look of the tour was the green doily by Temperley and the boob-bib dress by Emilia Wickstead. I would have gladly burned both of those looks in a Hindu funeral pyre and thrown a sari over Kate’s slender figure. And I disagree that a sari “needs” curves – the intricate folds, wraps and drapes of the sari can complement any figure. I would have loved to have seen Kate try.
Also, when Will and Kate were at the Kaziranga National Park, Kate was asked why they didn’t bring their children to India. Kate said: “Because George is too naughty. He would be running all over the place. The next time we come we will definitely bring them.” I’ve seen people throwing shade at Kate for this answer, but honestly, think about it: George would terrorize the Indian people with his fists of doom, then he would run after all of the protected animals at the park. George is a pint-sized international incident just waiting to happen.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
I loved the green doily dress.
Ditto. I loved the color, the style-and how it looked with her hair up.
I love it too! If the sleeves weren’t so tight I would love it even more. A flowing sleeve and that dress would be perfect.
I liked it, didn’t love it. I still think it’s a bit too frou-frou with all of the lacy bits in the front (and it would itch me half to death, lol) but the color is fantastic. I definitely wouldn’t call it the worst, that honor goes to the white dress with the boob-flaps.
My fave is still the pink and green Anita Dongre dress that she wore when she played cricket. I covet it, lol.
Me too. That was at least decent.
It looked very Stepford Wife to me.
Hated it.
I loved it as well. Different strokes for different folks
Strongly disliked it.
I like it too! And the pink one in the other picture. I actually have a dress like the pink one but in teal with gold embroidery. Am I horribly unfashionable and just didn’t know it? 😮
Love it too! I thought the dress is from Ms. Self portrait.
That was unnecessary. And I think the beauty of a sari is that it flatters every age group and body type, so I think this woman is sort of a b*
I thought that aged model was pretty over the top and b#tchy too. Her snark was tacky.
Guys, am Indian and am aware of Shobha De. She is a bit of a troll, like that Daily Fail writer Katie Hopkins.
What she said about Kate was rude, about not having curves etc. Many Indian women don’t have perfect curves and can rock a sari.
I couldn’t agree more. Kate isn’t there as a fashion model.
Yes.
While I think she looks better witha few punds on her, I don’t think blaming her slender body type is fair.
Positive note: she is wearing beautiful earrings.
I agree. the fact that a sari is a giant decorated piece of fabric (ok simplification, I know) is what I love the most them – they are made for all women because of the way they are worn.
My parents’s traditional dress is very similar to a Sari, and while it looks OK on slimmer people, it is really gorgeous on bigger people. Due to the 9metres of material, and alk the wrapping involved, it tends to swamp slimmer bodies.
The extra material drapes so well around a bigger body than a slimmer body which simply drowns in it. And of course if uou have boobs and butt, yhe better though you do have some help with under skirts – the slimmer you are, the more underskirts are recommended to give impression of hips.
I’m on the skinny side, and i look passable in it, so i can see what this lady is saying vis a vis a skinny person like Kate.
But you said in much more civilly.
I completely agree. The sari is a lovely outfit, and it does look better on women with more weight on them. It just drapes beautifully on bigger ladies and it can easily drown a slender person.
My mum has more on her, and when she wear a sari, she is gorgeous. When I wear a sari, it can look awkward as I don’t always have the proportions to carry it of as well as she does.
Although Kate isn’t there as a fashion model, she is in India representing the UK, and the outfits she wears is a big part of it. She’s often representing British fashion and people are very interested in what she’s wearing. There are pages in websites and papers dedicated to it, and often her mark of approval can bring a relatively unknown designer to the forefront.
@LAK – Saris come in several different kinds of fabrics and it’s an outright fallacy that saris only look good on certain body types – my roommate in college was super skinny and some types of saris actually worked BETTER on her because she was slender enough to not look like a brick in a crisp fabric sari the way I would, and knew how to use the bulk of the material to create the illusion of curves.
And saris don’t have to be sexy or glamorous to look good, Shobhaa Rajadhyaksha has just inhaled too much celluloid from too many years living near Bollywood.
Teacakes: i wasn’t talking about sexuality of Sari clad women or fabrics.
And whilst i take your point, i stand firm in my view that the 9metres worth of material that go into the sari-style drape of our traditional dress looks better on bigger bodies than it does on smaller ones. And i say that as both a skinny person, and someone who wears it afew times a year.
Though, with regards your comment about fabrics, it’s become trendy to wear proper saris in addition to the traditional dress at these occassions so i’ve had a chance to judge all the different sizes, shapes, fabrics of different ladies, including myself, and i still think the same thing.
@LAK – I wasn’t talking about the specifics of your traditional costume, obviously you are in a position to know more about that. Just as I am in a better position to know about saris themselves because even if I personally don’t wear them on a daily basis, I live in India and see them worn around me every day, by women of all shapes, sizes and ages.
And my point stands – in my fairly extensive experience, saris can certainly look good even on women with no “curves” or those who are on the smaller/slimmer side. Photographs of my own college graduation (containing a lot of very slender young women, some of who lacked decolletage or derriere) give the lie to the claim that they can’t.
Also I mentioned the fabrics because the type of fabric makes a huge difference to what a sari looks like on someone. So I don’t think there’s any truth to the blanket claim that saris need to be draped on larger bodies to look good.
The difference may be someone of the culture’s opinion (LAK) vs. someone who is outside the culture looking in.
@notasugarhere – I’m Indian, living in India.
That’s hardly “someone who is outside the culture looking in”.
That’s why I wrote “may”. LAK made it clear, you didn’t. She wrote of personal experience wearing one, you wrote of seeing people around you wearing them.
@nota – I thought it was pretty clear that I was from the culture in question, given that I clearly stated I live in India and was in a better position to know about saris than LAK (since saris are my traditional gear, as LAK’s sari-style ones are her own). And, at one point, did make a reference to what I would look like in a certain sari style (implying personal experience).
I should learn not to leave things to implication at all, I don’t fancy being called an outsider to my own culture as a result.
Communication via written words only isn’t my strong suit. Plus I don’t assume that everyone living in India is Indian.
A close friend of mine is Indian (born in US). Whenever I go with her to something, an event, party, wedding, from my outsider perspective all the women look wonderful. Sari, punjabi, whatever they’re wearing. This includes the non-Indian women who have married in and assumed the dress of their husband’s family. But I’m an outsider thinking the beautiful, intricate clothing looks beautiful on anyone, not as someone who has personal experience of wearing it. I don’t know if someone has the folds wrong or their blouse it too tight or short etc.
if you were really so unsure, you could have asked, instead of implying that I was the “outsider” in this exchange.
I was unsure so made a guess as an outsider that you were possibly another outsider too. From attending events, I’ve wondered what I would look like in traditional clothing but haven’t experienced wearing it for myself. You wrote of people around you, not of you wearing the clothing yourself. You could have been in the same situation I am. Nothing untoward or offensive intended.
(Still getting used to CB’s international reach.)
@nota – you projected your own experience re: traditional Indian costumes onto me to assume I was an outsider, but also assumed that I’m not Indian despite mentioning living in the country, knowing how saris are worn/draped, and being in a better position to know about saris than LAK?
I assume that people who mention living in a country, especially ones not known for having major immigrant populations, belong to said country unless they explicitly state otherwise, and perhaps I was mistaken to think people would apply the same assumption to me especially since I’ve mentioned my nationality several times before on CB and especially on threads about the India/Bhutan tour.
I know you didn’t mean anything offensive and it’s not personal, but please understand that assumptions like yours can come off as dismissive and belittling.
I just want to add that I love when people disagree intelligently. Really gives me hope, especially when we’re facing a Trump Presidency.
Anyways, I thought what she said was harsh, but accurate. To me, Kate is not just slender, she’s skin and bones. And that to her narrow hips, and I see LAK’S argument that the fabric would overwhelm her (i.e. the sari wearing her, not the other way around). I definitely think it could have been said so much better.
I wrote *may* because I didn’t know, and to me the way you phrased things didn’t make it clear. The way LAK wrote, including her personal experience of wearing the items, made it clear to me. I never intended it as such, and I would have felt it inappropriate to assume that everyone living in India is Indian. Globalized world, I wouldn’t want to make assumptions in the opposite direction. I don’t remember reading many comments from you before, so wasn’t aware that you had spoken of your nationality.
HH, I am hoping that is all somehow not going to happen. There has to be some logic and reason somewhere in the Republican Party. There has to be.
Agreed. Kate isn’t a fashion model, she’s a visiting royal. I think it was rude to pick her apart in this way.
I like her informal dresses. I think they’re very pretty. I don’t understand why some people are picking on her not having a pedicure (on other websites) who cares? There’s other trivial things they pick at that’s a bit over the top. Also, it’s always better to wait for the kids to be a bit more mature before taking them to these kind of formal functions that have to go according to procedures. It’s not like shes just a regular mom going to a party and not taking her kid with her.
Yes, and has hideous feet which should never be seen in public.
People seem to confuse having a pedicure with wearing toe polish. Her toenails were cut, no scaly skin/cracked heels were apparent; she just wasn’t wearing coloured (or any) polish. I regularly pedicure my feet and I don’t wear polish either.
As for the toe “placement”, well…that’s just from wearing pointed toed heels. Most women who wear them a lot have feet that look that way.
Do you have the latest pics? Where she somehow almost managed to flash people in a LONG wrap skirt?? She is ridiculous. There is just no excuse for the continued poor choices in clothes during outdoor events. You know, OUTDOORS. Where there is a chance for wind and skirt hems may move from their original position. I just can’t with this woman anymore. I’m at a point where stories about her may be treated like anything with the Kartrashians in them – avoided at all costs.
I love a long wrap skirt. I had to stop wearing them because the darn things just fly open with the smallest gust of wind. I tried a nice pin, a la kilt, but it was clunky to me.
Ditto! I’ve had to restrict my favourite skirts to end of the work day, chilling in the back yard and deadheading flowers with a drink in hand sort of occasions. Which, really, is no big loss, except they actually look good on me and I’m the only one who will ever see. #vainspinstergardener
Do just a couple invisible stitches!
She managed to show a lot of leg and those ugly beige court shoes. Yet, the Queen of Bhutan didn’t flash us at all. How in the world did she manage and not Flashy Kate? The pictures of the archery show more over-acting. Maybe we should nominate Kate for the Golden Raspberry Award?
Yes, the overacting was obvious in the archery pictures. I wonder why she is so nervous.
I hate those overdone expressions. Hate. Them.
The Queen of Bhutan was wearing half-a-wrap more than Duchess Catherine was. That’s why she didn’t flash when the wind blew.
She should test all her outfits at East Anglian Air Ambulance during Will’s takeoff. It’s a shame he doesn’t work too often.
She then wore a thigh-high slit long dress to dinner with the King and Queen, an event in which I’m thinking no other woman was wearing anything so revealing, but had dressed more conservatively.
Because of course she did…
I noticed that, too. Seems like the other women had the slit at the back of the skirt.
You are so funny, when it comes to George. Totally see what you mean, hilarious!:-))))
Yes, I am actually quite charmed by both Kate’s and Kaiser’s comments on big G. He’s got more personality than the whole family combined!
I don’t know and haven’t figured out the purpose of the tour, so I’m unable to speculate whether or not it was a success. Did they do what they needed to do? I don’t know. Were people impressed? I don’t know. From my spectator’s seat, this tour seems like a flash in the pain. Not memorable or moving. Perhaps there is some future pay-off down the line.
a series of “painful” flashes.
I don’t get it either… It’s almost like an excuse to parade them around and criticize Kate’s wardrobe.
For once my memory is failing me, so please correct me if i’m wrong.
I think they set out to strengthen ties between Britain and India/Bhutan, and to make new memories vis a vis Diana.
Maya Goodfellow was scathing in the Independent, Dena:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/no-amount-of-fawning-media-coverage-of-prince-will-and-kates-visit-to-india-can-cover-up-these-a6978756.html
Good LORD that’s brutal. Accurate but brutal. Damn.
As a German, I cannot possibly sh*t on another country for its crappy history. But I had no idea that 44% of Brits are proud of the Empire??? The analogy is not 100% but I wonder what people all over Europe (and the entire world, in fact) would think if nearly half of Germans were …. something along the lines of proud of their history. Even just okay with it. And it’s not like we didn’t also have colonies. That too.
Well they never asked me!
In defence of my fellow Brits, littlemiss, it was one poll and it was a leading question that was asked. I think the sin is mostly one of ignorance than one of supremacism.
But um… yes. Regardless. Awful. And we are not sufficiently educated about it. We certainly aren’t educated about the blood and gore that went in the wake of divesting of Empire, let alone getting the bloody Empire in the first place. The information is there but you have to be interested enough to seek it out: it’s not taught in school at all well.
The British equivalent to today’s American narrative of exceptionalism was called the “mission to civilise”. People believed it as sincerely as many Americans believe their nation is exceptional. All empires have them, I guess – with the Romans it was the aspiration to citizenship. And you see the remaining traces of that ridiculous civilising narrative still today, in people who think the Empire wasn’t *all* bad. “But we gave them a legal system, a civil service and education, so there was an upside as well as a downside,” they say.
I don’t know how long it takes a nation to properly reflect upon itself, but I fear it is a long time!
@littlemissnaughty – I get the feeling school-level history in the UK doesn’t say much about what the Empire actually did, in terms of draining its colonies of resources.
I’ve seen way too many Brits who seem to think it was just about ruling and “giving” the former colonies certain administrative, political and legal structures and technology with some racist treatment of the “natives” (never mind that said colonies were taxed to death for the privilege and had their own industries destroyed to provide markets for British goods). And then they get mad when anyone criticises the Empire, like those ungrateful former colonials who otherwise have no grudges against British people. And ones who migrate to the UK. (this is the mindset of the average Daily Mail/Times/Telegraph reader, even if they don’t want to admit it)
teacakes – yes, exactly. Although I would say that most people have a vague knowledge that Empire Was Bad. It’s just that the generally nice people don’t care to reflect on it too much because it’s painful to your idea of yourself and your national identity. And the nasty people are as they are everywhere. Just y’know. Nasty. I do think there are more nice than nasty people, however.
I did the Irish potato famine in GSCE history. But not the Bengal famine. Despite covering the period.
WWII is covered in history lessons as a great victory. But the resulting loss of Empire and the death count associated with it is completely ignored.
@Sixer – yeah, the treatment of WWI and WWII in India has always been rather ambivalent – so many of our own died fighting those wars, but there’s always a sense that they were ‘someone else’s’ war. The wars aren’t remembered in India the way they are across Europe, and I feel like part of that is because people feel some kind of way about soldiers fighting for their own colonisers (even if it was in exchange for promised Dominion status, which never materialised).
It’s a shame our soldiers aren’t honoured the way they deserve to be, by either country.
@ Sixer: I’m not sure ignorance regarding one’s own history is that much better than – in this case – a sense of supremacy, at least not if you move away from the individual. Because ignorance of our own atrocities can very quickly lead to very problematic views. But I digress.
“I don’t know how long it takes a nation to properly reflect upon itself, but I fear it is a long time!” Well, again, as a German, that’s difficult for me to comment on. We know what we did. But if a nation is not forced to confront their history, it’s not going to volunteer. At least not until a few generations down the line.
littlemiss – sadly, I agree about ignorance not being particularly blissful. And that Germany has proved the better reflecter. Sigh, sigh and sigh again.
teacakes – WWII is a good case in point, actually. If you tell the average Brit that India supplied 2.5 million troops, that there was no conscription and they were all volunteers, and that 40% of them were Muslim, it would be completely new information. In these Islamophobic days, I find myself using this one a great deal.
What you say about future promises and colonisers can be pretty much repeated in the case of Ireland and WWI.
@Sixer
Are you saying we’re not special? 😳
As an American and a Southerner, I think you can love where you come from while acknowledging that there were horrible parts of it. You can be proud and ashamed at the same time. Just as you can love a parent or a child who did something very wrong. Yes, the Empire was largely bad and based on a false sense of superiority, but that’s what people believed then. That’s not an excuse, but the country has grown and changed, which is all you can do when you make a bad choice. I think your country has a lot to be proud of, too.
LOL @ GNAT. I think exceptionalism is a patently ridiculous notion, just as I think every national narrative that seeks to set a particular nation above other nations is ridiculous. But you know that already and also: I think YOU are special!
I agree with what you say. I don’t see myself as patriotic particularly, but I do love Britain. It’s my home and I know it and mostly understand it and, well, it made me. I love it, warts and all, no matter how big the warts, past or present. And I want it to be not just better but the best it can be. I think there is a lot to love here but we would get rid of the things that aren’t lovable much more quickly if we were more willing to reflect on them. I think this is the same for every country.
@ Sixer: To be fair, we had no choice. And I’m glad we didn’t but it’s not exactly our achievement.
I’m with GNAT there. It’s definitely possible to love your country and culture while acknowledging the bad parts – and wanting to be better in the future because of that love. I know I do it, and I suspect a lot of us do too.
The Empire did a lot of bad things, but like everyone says, you can’t change the past, and trying to erase it isn’t going to make anything better. (and that goes for both the UK and India)
teacakes, I think an apt description is that you simply love your home. Your country is your home and that’s why you love it, for better or for worse. Like your parents (if you’re lucky). There may be things they f*cked up but they’re your parents and you love them.
Can I whisper my few penn’orth? As someone of a certain age, and having learned history at school mainly in the 60s, I find the changing attitude since to the British Empire interesting and healthy on the whole.
But I also note in the comments above that The British Empire seems to be the only one mentioned and criticised ( whilst acknowledging that the thread is about a royal visit to a previous part of that empire) The Brits weren’t the only ones who went Empire building; the Persians, The Romans, Ghengis Khan, The Spanish in North and South America, the French (and Brits) in Canada and the Far East. The Dutch and the Brits in South Africa, and many European countries in Africa in general. Unfortunately we seem to have hung on to ours rather long than many.
But it is sad that throughout history there are always people who want to take what belongs to others.
No one really cares, honestly. It just seems like a box for William and Kate to tick off, tour over and done.
That said, I think the Shobhaa Rakadhyaksha article was a touch too bitchy, even for me.
I am guessing it’s the same there as it is here? Flurries of media attention and a few die-hard pro-s and anti-s bloviating away, while 99% of people just get on with their lives taking absolutely no notice at all?!
And by the way as a complete off-topic. I learned a new word today. Punctuating with ?! is using an interrobang. This is my favourite new word for ages and ages. And I only found it out because of post post-punk.
More or less, really. Same old coverage of Kate’s outfits etc but no one cares that much, if it wasn’t for the clothes this would be no different from any visiting dignitary tour (i.e. no one cares at all unless it’s, like, Obama or the Pakistani PM/President of the moment).
also I didn’t know there was an actual word for the ?!, that was perfectly coined, hats off to whoever came up with it!
Wrong place.
Ok. So basically no one really knows? Well, I hope they are enjoying their anniversary vaca–cause they did get married in April or May, didn’t they?
You know . . . while you cannot look at a person and definitely not that person’s photo to determine his/her level of intelligence, I can’t help but to think that the people who meet W/K on these foreign tours can’t help but to think ‘nice accents but as interesting as a warm cup of water.’ I mean they don’t have to talk about contentious topics, leave that to the diplomats, but W/K don’t seem intelligently deep, clever, engaging or even charming.
I think that instead of referring to them as W/K. I’ll start thinking of them Dull & Giggly–as in it’s time for the Dull & Giggly Show.
Yes – but why isn’t she wearing Indian designers!?
So basically this woman is body shaming another woman with the excuse that only women with curves look better in a sari? and how can you fault someone for having no butt? or having too much? she didn’t wear a sari so what is her f-ing point?
Some women would pick at other women just for the sake of it. so stupid and useless.
Have the ever said anything good about George? It’s always bad!
I saw gods of them meeting the run aways ( I think) and they asked the same questions they ask at every event. They’re not giving the reporters anything new to report on.
Oh know, I agree. I prefer when parents don’t make disparaging remarks about their children, particularly in public. All she needed to say was ” next time we hope they will join us”.
I take it in jest and with affection. I have a little girl his age and the family often joke about how she’s a menace…but it’s meant with love and levity, i interpret it as part of the age they are as well. The terrible twos/traumatic threes.
I can’t blame her for not bringing him but she also has a slew of help to assist the naughty toddler. Which I think is great he is like that.
An international incident due to George’s fists of doom. Love it!
And her style is a snooze fest. The only piece I loved was the two piece at the queens birthday celebration.
Speaking of fashion, I would have liked to see Wills in some traditional men’s Indian clothes and/Or clothes from an Indian designer. That would have brought international attention to that designer, and make it look like Wills & Kate actually give a damn about this diplomatic visit.
@Green Is Good, YES so much to everything you said. He seems to have dressed dully for what was purported to be such a “colorful” trip. Their body language seems so off at times, if only they could at least project or cultivate a demeanor that they care. They lack a certain gravitas, methinks.
The “colourful” part was code for the people who don’t look like him. He may seek to keep that line drawn. And maybe he just doesn’t care.
Totally understand the George comment about being “too naughty”. I have a 6 year old and 2 year old, and my dad nicknamed them Tank and Trouble. They are wonderful, nice, hilarious and smart little guys, but they are as wild and rambunctious as they come. I can hound them every second of every minute of every hour- they are just wild. If I had a big work thing, or something super important with people watching or something I had to focus on, no way in hell would I bring them along. My 6 year old has a saying from pre-school, “you get what you get so don’t throw a fit.” That is the way I see my kids. They are who they are, so we work with that. They will not be attending my state visit to India. 🙂
Lol, margie! My second son was nicknamed Crash for a long time! He is still a disaster physically, destroying lots of stuff while never getting hurt himself, but we don’t call him that anymore because he’s old enough now (just turned 6) to be sensitive about it. If there’s something on the floor, he will step on it; if there’s something to be knocked off a table, he will knock it off. And never on purpose, poor thing!
Ah, boys. So fun but so crazy!
My cat did that,but on purpose.
My big brother’s nickname was Tank.
On a totes separate note, I find the George is naughty narrative really weird. They never say anything positive about him- they only comment to say how much of a horror he is. But why? Do they think this endears us to them? Are they wanting to relate to us as commoner parents of horrid, commoner children? He’s got a Norland nanny and goes to pre-school so you’d like to think he is fairly well adjusted. He’s never been photograped tantrumming as far as I know. It’s just odd how they never say anything nice about him, yet Charlotte is vaunted as very sweet and easy. Weird.
He probably exhibits a bit of energy and genuine interest in his surroundings, which are completely foreign concepts to his parents.
Seems like he takes after Uncle Harry 😉
I’m right there with you.
I have a theory that he seems difficult to them because they’ve never worked at anything. Everything is arranged beautifully and with minimum fuss, including the girl.
The boy on the otherhand won’t fall into place, even with a Norland Nanny which means they actually have to work where he is concerned, and that’s too much to ask.
I have a theory that George is what William is like as a baby. I hope George is getting more consistent discipline than his father got!
I think you’re right about him being work, because my first two children required a lot of work and I can’t imagine these two lazybones putting in that sort of real effort with their “spirited” child, even with a nanny doing the heavy lifting.
I think it’s more likely simply true. And they realized that people find it cute and decided to run with it because that kid has more personality than both of them. It makes them look more interesting I guess?
that kid literally IS the most interesting thing about the two of them, and has been from the minute he made a grab for that tiny animal on the Australia tour.
I don’t know how two dullards like Will and Kate managed to produce a kid with so much personality.
You’re right, their kids are more interesting than they are they have picked up on it. They give the pat answers about the kids every time, usually in the same vein for each. There is little personal information given out, but some read the comments as “oh they’re sharing insider information about their kids”.
Workshy gushes over Charlotte but never George. I guess it is true what some historians say about the BRF. The heirs are treated less favorably than the other children. Idk why.
What a picky b@#$&. Way to body shame the skinny girl. I’m “sari”, but at least she’s trying to be respectful with her fashion choices. Geez…
Ok that “needs curves… needs derriere” comment was rude. Damn those stupid “rules” of “women like this can’t wear that”, that’s total BS. Also Duchess Kate has always been petite, that’s how her body works.
She’s not always been petite. She used to have more definition to her figure, back in the days when her goal wasn’t to be a stick figure.
Certain types of clothing look better with certain types of figures. Not everybody can wear any type of style and look good in it.
The fashion critic mentioned in the article said that Kate would look good in a Gone With The Wind kind of dress with the narrow waist and fuller skirt. Like they say, accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.
She never used to be what I’d call petite. Slim and athletic, yes, but still a regular size.
Some people can go well under their ideal/natural weight and still look good in clothes. Victoria Beckham for example is quite dramatically underweight, but she is also petite, so her proportions are still ok. Kate just looks odd, her proportions are all wrong. She’s forced a narrow body onto a not so narrow frame, and as a result she looks oddly top-heavy and bony.
oh, please. Saris can work for literally any type of figure, at any size – the advantages of having it be a piece of fancy cloth that you literally drape and fold and pleat into shape around your body, are not to be discounted.
That said, I’m actually glad Kate didn’t attempt to wear one – for an average non-habitual sari wearer, it can be hard to adjust our gait and body language to accommodate the draping and pleating in order to look graceful and not accidentally step on something or rip/unravel the entire thing. Hell, I have a hard enough time with that, and I actually wear them a few times a year!
You’re lucky. I think they are so beautiful. The fabrics are gorgeous and there’s just something so feminine and sexy (not sure that’s quite the word – alluring?) about them while not being revealing or overt. I never thought about walking in them. I guess everyone I’ve seen wearing one had lots of practice so they looked graceful. I’m sure I would end up on my face.
Meanwhile, Daniel is in Germany working hard, entertaining kids, and wearing one of his bad skinny-leg suits.
Mette-Marit is in khakis and a promo tshirt on her UNAIDS trip to Tanzania.
Maxima is stunning as Barbie Visits Bavaria (which she can get away with because she’s smart and speaks 5 languages).
Daniel also spoke with joy of being a parent and watching Estelle discover and grow.
Mette-Merit remembered she was going to be in the bush and dressed accordingly.
Maxima was funny and engaging while looking like the badass Queen Barbie that she is.
I *tried* to make it about fashion but when the people involved are known for WORKING it is hard to only focus on the clothes 🙂
You tied, nota! It really is difficult to discuss other royals when they aren’t all about the fashion.
I am all out of sighs for these two. The fashion game is terrible and the work angle is atrocious. What can you say? Loads of examples to mimic, but no.
Ol’ Waity needs a head-to-toe makeover and has for awhile.
Really think disgraceful is the word to wear a dress and show nether regions at a Royal Engagement especiallynin foreign country representing our country.. There is no excuse for this behaviour
she is a disgrace
Poor George. His parents suck. How is he naughty? Energy and personality does not equal naughty. He seems like a perfectly lovely little boy in pics with Nanny Maria and even with Ma Midds. Maybe he just doesn’t like his parents?
That mint dress made her look like toothpaste. I also hated the blue evening gown she wore teh first night. The cape she wore today is very cool. IT would go with her jeggings
I liked almost all her outfits and loved the royal blue gown. I didn’t like any of her shoes or the brown jeggings. I’m at a loss for words over the white dress Marilyn moment. Bound to happen with that wide a dress and it’s beyond me that her stylists don’t get that by now. It’s sad that this entire trip has bolied down to what Kate wore. Surely there were many people who enjoyed meeting them and vice versa and I would hope that whatever goals were set were met. And finally, I think this reporter is a jealous witch. DM has a couple of pics of her in her boring garb and bunioned feet. Probably pained her to see a happy couple being honored and doing their best to achieve what was required.
Before the trip, her PR said that she chose her outfits. Kate has a pattern of not listening to anybody besides William and Carole. And she’s old enough and experienced enough to know to wear butt-covering underpants and even a slip under her full-skirted dresses and to order somebody to put enough weights in her hem. She’s not stupid. She’s deliberate.
Why do you think she would deliberately flash her bits? Not a snarky question, I just can’t come up with an answer myself.
@ OTHER RENEE
I think that since she’s been raised to catch a rich man, this way of getting a man is how she got William, keeping in mind that one of her nicknames was ‘Mattress.’
So she probably thinks that being sexy is a way to keep him from straying too much.
I think that if William told her to stop it, then she would have. Also, I think she thinks this is a way to get attention with the public and the media. Any publicity is good publicity in her thinking, imo.
As a teen/young adult she had a reputation for flashing. I think she’s just an exhibitionist in that way.
It’s happened dozens of time now over the years, and she hasn’t done anything at all to stop it. Even if we assume she’s spectacularly slow, after the first 10 times you’d think someone who didn’t want to flash their bits would learn from her mistakes and stop wearing floaty skirts and buy some heavier materials or maybe, gasp, wear pants.
That it’s still happening means she wants it to happen.
Oh, good, I wasn’t the only one to notice that Shobha wasn’t perfect. Trust me, it’s a lot easier to prevent bunions by wearing the correct type of shoes than it is to stay slim.
To offer a really bad paraphrase, “Let her who is without bunion throw the first body-shaming stone.”
I used to think bunions were preventable, so I’ve never worn shoes that could possibly damage my feet in such a manner. But, the sad truth is they are often hereditary and this may be the case for both Kate (who is developing them) and Shobha.
At the solemn event at the Indian Gate, hair down being flung around by the wind with her dress flying up. I think she’s happy with this, as she seems to like to have a sexual element to her appearance.
It’s unfortunate that all or most of the new clothing she’s worn on this trip will be only of a one-time use. What a waste of money.
The article was a bit OTT but most people find her style boring. There have been several nice outfits on this tour but I’m surprised she hasn’t recycled anything from previous hot weather tours as she is always praised in the media for being thrifty. The duchy of Cornwall credit card must have taken a battering.
Let´s face it, at this point there is NOTHING
in the world she could do to please everybody!
That´s just never going to happen. Ever.
She could work. Consistently.
And the consistent work would make her appearances less surprising and the focus could move to the charities/work she is doing as opposed to the one event per month ratio.
True.
But I was thinking clotheswise on this trip. .
Sadly, I don´t think we are going to see her doing
serious work either.
The only famous woman who truly nailed it on her trip to India was Jackie Kennedy and how did she do it? She avoided patterns and ruffles-ribbons-zigzaggy things. She wore bright and solid colors which made her look unique in the multi-patterned world of India.
If you ignore the sari comments, she isn’t saying anything that isn’t true about Kate’s style. It is boring. It is themed. I mean…she & Tash truly think having her wear colorful frocks equals Indian style. Just look at what she wore today. Instead of having an outfit created by a Bhutan designer. They go with wrap and shirt/cape from an English designer. Yes, the wrap is Bhutan fabric, but it isn’t a true Bhutan wrap as evidence by the flyaway at the legs.
I was just thinking this is the best she’s ever looked!
Meh. She looks great in almost every picture, these people just want to pick on her. Is her style boring? Whatever, she’s not creating a new clothing line.
Hey,guise.I guess im late to the party. Have been lurker for years but never commented,but just thought this time i could drop in and say something.
Getting small updates in news articles about the Royal Couple’s tour here in India. As for public reaction,i guess its a bigger deal in U.K than in India. People here seem aware that the Royal Couple is on tour but no one seems to care much.
Also on related note, the “Jallianwala Bagh Massacre” 97th aniversary was on 13th April and there was some articles stating how they should have visited the place and maybe paid a small act of condolence. Im split on this issue,as it is a sombre and still painful affair for many people and the family of the deceased could do without the media scrutiny on that day if the couple visited the park.
Few other people were joking about on twitter keeping the Royal Couple hostage until they return back the “Kohinoor diamond”. Lol.
As for Kate’s flying skirt fiasco in India Gate. A certain newspaper had front page article and picture with Kate’s legs showing and skirt flying. Most people seemed angry with the said newspaper for using that picture and called them out on social media and stuff saying its something she couldnt have helped if wind was blowing and it could have happened to anyone and its disrespectful to treat guests visiting our country in such manner. (They probably don’t know about her previous such incidents i guess)
Most part of the tour is over now,guess it was a semi-okay success
They’re going back to India after their Bhutan visit. They’re going for the photo op in front of the Taj Mahal. Remember that it was reported that they asked for the scaffolding to come down so they could get a good photo of themselves there. And William alluded that the Taj Mahal was helped in becoming more famous and having more tourists because of his mother, as if some amount of gratitude was owed her (and probably by consequence to him too in his request).
@ANNE_000
Forgot about the Taj Mahal trip.Yes i read an article about them requesting to remove the scaffolding. Although their spokesperson denied making such a request,i have no trouble believing they had made some unofficial request. Many foreign dignitaries visit the Taj Mahal,and they seem to have no problen taking the usual pictures in front with the scaffolding….but these two.
If it was some issue relating to their security measures or something like that then yes as hosts India could have accomodated but just to get a “perfect picture” to remove the scaffolding,which are there for a reason because repair and renovation work is goin on…..im glad the request was denied.
As much famous as Lady Di was…but the way William alluded to her contribution to its fame….ahem..okay…
They live in a bubble.
I read Shobha’s article in the Mail, which included a number of photos of Shobha herself. I don’t believe I’ll be taking any style advice from someone who doesn’t have enough style sense to keep her own massive bunions and hammertoes out of view.
Wasn’t she just awful? I mean, what on earth was Miss Bunion thinking by saying Kate should have been “more flirty?” This is journalism at its most stupid.
Loved the green doily dress.
As for the Indian columnist, she has a lot of criticism coming her way too – even for her scathing commentary on Will & Kate’s tour of India. She may be dubbed the ‘Jackie Collins of India’ (by who?!) but she is seen as something of a joke by us Indians – as someone silly, juvenile of opinion and hilariously inconsequential.